Google Eddystone is an open source beacon protocol by Google, compatible with Android and iOS. It comes with three kinds of data packets:
- Eddystone-UID
- Eddystone-URL
- Eddystone-TLM
In Google Eddystone, the process of setting up the beacon is called provisioning and can be achieved by an Android/iOS app provided by Google.
Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.google.android.apps.location.beacon.beacontools
iOS: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/beacon-tools/id1094371356.
Once an object or a place is identified to deploy the beacon on or at, the next step is to choose the type of data the beacon will be transmitting. It can be either of the three types mentioned previously.
After selecting the data type, the third step is to register the beacon with the Google Proximity Beacon API. It is a cloud service offered by Google to let owners manage the data associated with a beacon using a REST interface. The interface enables real-time data monitoring and management remotely and allows Google products to react to the beacon. We will learn about the Proximity Beacon API in the upcoming sections.